An annuity is a product that gives you a guaranteed lifetime income in retirement. It can offer stability and peace of mind, providing a steadily rising income each year to help keep up with inflation. Over the last 7 years since the 2015 Pension Freedoms were introduced, however, annuities have widely fallen…
Do you – or someone you know – work for the NHS? When you start working for the NHS, you should be automatically enrolled onto the NHS Pension Scheme. Yet what is it, exactly, and how does it work? Does it offer good value for retirement planning and are there better alternatives…
UK residents now change jobs 17 times, on average, across their working lives. With each new job that you take, moreover, your employer is obliged to sign you up to the organisation’s pension scheme under UK auto-enrolment rules. As such, you could end up with over a dozen pension pots from your career…
Some recent headlines have argued that public sector pensions (civil servants, doctors etc.) offer the best deal. Yet is this truly the case? This is important to address, as it may affect your future career choices. Below, our team at Elmfield Financial Planning in Padiham, Burnley, puts forward some…
Some key changes came to the teachers’ pension scheme from April 2022. Depending on the time you qualify to receive a teachers’ pension, it may no longer be possible for you to access a “final salary pension” (i.e. where you receive a guaranteed, lifetime income in retirement based on what you earned near…
The new State Pension was introduced in April 2016, partly in an attempt to simplify the pension system (which is notoriously complex in the UK). Before that, the “old” State Pension broadly fell into two categories – the “basic” State Pension, and the “additional” State Pension. Under these rules, you could…
How can you ensure your pension will last? Part of the role of a financial planner is to help you to craft a sustainable retirement plan. Remember, with the average UK lifespan now over 81 years, your pension(s) might need to last 30+ years. Below, our team at Elmfield offer some thoughts…
The UK has many types of pensions – adding to common confusion about retirement planning. Broadly speaking, there are three to consider: the State Pension, defined contribution pensions (i.e. pension “pots”) and final salary – or “defined benefit” – pensions. This latter category can be especially…
There are many reasons why people may have left their pension planning until their 40s. Maybe you spent much of your adult life raising young children, not building a career (a noble thing). It might simply be that you delayed thinking about it. The good news is, your 40s still gives plenty of time to start moving towards…
For most young people, pensions are the last thing on their minds. Your 60s and 70s seem very far away and, typically, the most pressing financial priority (if there is one) is saving for a house deposit. It may also be that young people have retired parents who live very comfortably, with a house fully paid-off…
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